The day the maple tree was planted.

The maple tree was planted yesterday. Yes, the day of Mollie's surgery. Not for that reason, just because Curt's parents were here already for the surgery and had been planning to plant a tree this spring. Our yard needs more shade and a home for the birds (so Mollie and Tripp can see them, of course!).

These pictures are really funny to us for a couple of reasons. Notice the way Mollie is dressed. After she came home from her surgery, she insisted on putting on her princess gown. We added pajama bottoms and socks because it was really cool. Kaye-Kaye and Datee (Sa-shee as she now calls him) later added another shirt over the princess gown when we were still inside because her arms were cold. Because she didn't really need to be outside anyway, we covered her really well with her jacket and a warm hat on her head. She looks hilarious! (We didn't let her stay out too long, I promise!)

Another funny thing in this picture is that her grandmother is chasing her around with a plate on english peas and a spoon! Priceless! Kaye-Kaye was trying to make sure Mollie ate her lunch and recovered well. Kaye-Kaye ended up pushing Mollie around in her car outside for awhile and then coercing her back inside by pushing her inside as well. And then Mollie ate some more English peas for her Kaye-Kaye. Thanks to Curtis and Curt for planting our tree.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Curt's parents left for Greenville. We were all really tired because no one slept well the night before. Everyone was looking forward to a good nights sleep. Curt and I let Mollie sleep with us so we could make sure she was okay during the night. She woke up with a fever and a cough around 1:30 AM. We had been giving her Motrin and Tylenol all day and evening so we were surprised that it was around 101 degrees. We gave her more Tylenol but at 2:30 AM her fever was around 102.3 degrees. We had been told to expect a low grade fever, but were surprised it was climbing...especially after Tylenol and Motrin regularly. We usually don't freak out when our kids run fever but it bothered us (me) because she had just had surgery and was so lethargic (and had gooky matted eyes).

I went outside in the middle of the night to find her post-op papers in her diaper bag we had left in the car. I decided to try the number and see if a nurse was on call. They. paged. the. doctor.!!! Oh my! I must say I was so embarrased when he called our house (with a groggy "they woke me up"voice) at 2:45 AM. Dr. Harrison was so very kind and assured me that her body was doing what it was supposed to do by fighting the infection. He reminded me to continue the antibiotic, Tylenol and Motrin. (I knew all that. Why did I wake him up for that! Ugh!) Please send my apologies for having him paged to his family if any of you know them! This really was one of those moments you just cringe when you think back on them.

Mollie's fever broke in about an hour and we all went back to sleep. (I love it when she sweats alot because her hair just turns into ringlets! So cute!) She has run a low grade fever today but is playing with her dolls and her little baby brother. Tripp loves her so much and just gets so excited when she talks to him. It's been fun for all of us to be home playing and relaxing together. And maybe tonight we will all get that good nights sleep we've been waiting on.

Mollie minus her adenoids

Well, yesterday was the day little Mollie lost her adenoids. They were really swollen and acting as a cork in her nose, causing her little nose to run all the time. You can see in this picture that she has on her hospital gown and has already received her Vercet, making her really sleepy and confused. Not Mr. Tripp, he's his normal happy self. Right after this picture Mollie got real silly and drunk and started wrestling Tripp (as always). He had no choice but to just lie on the hospital bed and let her roll all over him. Mollie eventually relaxed and surrendered, retreating around the corner with the nurse with the really warm blanket. (...and her mommy collapsed emotionally).

Time passed quickly and before we knew it we were with Mollie in recovery. She did well at first and drank her juice, but then she started waking up. My, my, she was in "emergence delirium", our friend Linda prepared us for this. It took all of us taking turns at calming (wrestling) the little girl with the IV in her hand. Fast forward to about forty-five minutes later and we are in the car riding home with a slightly groggy little girl glad to see her little brother in the back seat with her..."hey twipa"! All is well.

Baby Dedication

What a handsome little fellow! It was quite the ordeal but we registered Tripp today for his Baby Dedication Service at church. After struggling with numerous photo shoots and missing the church deadline, Kaye-Kaye saved the day by reminding us of this good picture of Tripp taken by a Greenville photographer, Beth. Thanks to Aunt Kelli, "Lee-Lee" to Mollie and Tripp, who called Beth at the last minute and asked her to email the picture to us. The lady at the church told me I needed to get it emailed to her within the next hour! Beth came through for us and Tripp will be able to participate in the service on February 8th. Whew!

Getting Ready for School

These pictures were taken of Tripp and Mollie as we were getting ready to load up for school. (and we wonder why we can't get to school on time, haha!) We were having a good morning and everybody was in a somewhat happy mood so I took the time to grab a few shots.

Tripp is weighing almost 22 pounds at 7 1/2 months and is about to outgrow his infant car seat. Curt and I enjoy him so much because he is really a happy baby (when he is full and rested!) and changing so much every day. He is rolling everywhere finally and loves to "talk" to you. He and Mollie are starting to entertain each other and it's really cute to watch them make each other smile. Sometimes when Tripp is in his high chair waiting for his food, Mollie will run back and forth around the kitchen so Tripp will watch her and giggle. We can't wait to see that relationship form between the two and see them learn to take care of each other. At this point, Tripp just needs to learn to defend himself when she "loves" (pounds) on his back and slobbers all over his face. It will happen one day soon!

Little Miss Mollie is learning so much and her vocabulary is growing every day. When Curt and the kids got home the other night I heard her saying "Hey, baby" to Tripp. Curt had just said that to me so we got a big laugh about her repeating everything. Also, when Tripp is crying for a bottle, she starts pointing her finger at him and saying "hush it, Twipa. hush! no, no bite Twipa, be nice!" He is just steadily crying for his bottle and she gets louder with each rant. It is hilarious because we know she is just repeating what her teacher has said in class.

Mollie is also learning to obey. This is a battle of the wills at time but we try to make a really big deal out of it when she makes the right choice and does what we ask. We are learning to not chase her down or struggle with her, we just simply tell her what she needs to do, and if she doesn't do it, we warn her that she will get a spanking. So far, that warning usually does it. We've only had to spank her a few times but Curt and I are real proud of ourselves when we do! We still can't believe we're grown-ups with kids!

Our new cousin!

Here he is! William Nicholson Tucker. "Nick" was born Saturday afternoon and weighs 3 lbs. 9 oz. Courtney and John are so thrilled that he is doing well and may get to come home in just two short weeks! His brothers Jack and Drew were at the hospital when he was born and were the first to see him. Courtney and John now have three little boys. Fun times ahead at the Tucker home!

Pics from Playland

Those of you that know me well, know that clutter is not my thing! When Curt and I got married, we would laugh at how his "stacks" of stuff everywhere used to drive me batty. After a few months of marriage, like any good husband, he learned that every thing had a place and would grit his teeth and put things wherever it made me happy. And our house was so neat and orderly! Those were the days.

Now, let's fast forward to two kids later and our den that has now become Tripp and Mollie's playroom. The kids toys are all in the den, including Mollie's kitchen, because who wants to play in their room alone? And our kids are so happy in their clutter!

Our own version of Super Saturday!

We have had the best weekend. We expected to have a rainy, yucky kind of day but my,my, we had some sunshine INSIDE our house! These babies kept us entertained the whole rainy weekend! Please forgive me if there are any typos in this blog because I am typing in the dining room with everyone within arms reach. It is loud and chaotic but we wouldn't have it any other way!

Tripp has started holding his bottle some of the time! This is a huge milestone for us. Yeah Tripp! He has also been playing on his pallet alot (sitting up I might add!) and Mollie is learning to share toys with him. She became very interested in all his new toys from Christmas so we had to teach her how to "show" Tripp how they work. She really wanted them all to herself!

Mollie has learned that Tripp laughs when she acts silly so she really turns it on when he is watching her. She runs and screams when he is in the high chair and he just giggles at her! Mollie loves her new found audience of one! (Of course, we get a kick out of watching them laugh at each other.)

Curt's naptime was hilarious! Mollie stuck a medicine dropper in his mouth while he was snoring. I was cracking up watching him politely pretend to take his "medsin" (medicine) and go right back to sleep. During another nap (yes, Curt napped more than once), Mollie woke up before Curt and started pointing ot the ceiling saying "up, daddy, up"! Curt tried to ignore her but she started prying open his eyes with her fingers. He turned his head to the side to avoid potential eye injuries, she waited awhile, and then sat on his neck. When she started jumping on his neck, Curt decided it was time to get up with her. No more naptime for Daddy!

The highlight of our weekend was our trip to PetSmart. Mollie loved to see all the dogs the customers brought in. Well, truthfully, she likes the big dogs! The cute little dogs scare her so badly she stops breathing for a minute. The little ones are too fast and yappy for our Mollie. Tripp and his daddy walked around looking at the fishtanks while Mollie and I perched on the doggy beds and watch a doggy obedience class. She sat mesmerized until one of the tiniest dogs came out of the class and she hyperventilated! Hilarious! We watched dogs getting groomed and watched the birds in their cages. So much fun (and all for free!). Saturday night fun.

On to Ichiban Hibachi Grill.... Our cook "Steve" was very kind to the kids and put on a good show for them. The fire was a hit! The kids loved the egg juggling routine and watching the knives. There was a table of 7 or 8 year old little girls next to us that Mollie was really interested in. She waved and waved at them (and stared and stared). They never saw her. Poor Mollie, but she had a great time watching them!

Its really funny to hear new things come out of Mollie's mouth. This weekend she has started saying "let's see" when starting a new task, and "okay" (with a long drawn out oooooo) at just random times. Curt says she got both of these from her mommy. I must say it sounds strangely familiar when I hear my words coming back at me!

The weekends are so short, but we love the time we get to spend with the babies.

Happy New Year 2009

2008 was good to us. Actually, 2007 was good to us too! These were the years Tripp and Mollie were born. Great years, great memories! I've never felt so blessed in my life. What more can you ask for than a happy, healthy family?

We are looking forward to all the great things ahead in 2009: Tripp will learn to walk and have his first birthday (first, he has to learn to roll around and crawl....he likes to sit still so far!), and little Mollie will likely be potty-trained this year. Everything is so new and exciting for us right now.

We hope that all our families and friends have great things ahead for them in 2009 too!

Curt and I are in Memphis now taking a few days off from parenthood. We have had so much fun just exploring different areas of Memphis and enjoying being with each other. We had lunch at Neely's yesterday, which was fun for us because we really like the Neely's show on the Food Channel. Great barbeque! Our hotel has a complimentary dinner reception at night (lasagna and a salad bar) and a HUGE free breakfast in the mornings so it's been nice to get a few free meals too. (That leaves more cash for my shopping! haha.) We went to the Memphis Grizzlies/San Antonio Spurs game and really enjoyed watching the pros play. Our tickets were $5 and then we got free bobble-heads for William and Carson. Money well spent. (This is scary. I'm beginning to sound like Curt mentioning all our money-saving.)

We have spent most of the trip talking about Tripp and Mollie and all the funny things they do. We talk to each other in "Mollienese" most of the time and laugh everytime we see a dog because we know she'd be so excited and scared at the same time. (Blah, blah, blah...people can really go on and on about their kids.... now, I really get it!) Bottom line, we have really missed them and are looking forward to seeing them today. Thank you Kaye and Curtis for keeping the babies for us and letting us get away for a few days. We love you!

Happy New Year to all our people!